Fluid control device



June 27, 1950 MATEGORIN 2,512,956

FLUID CONTROL DEVICE Filed Sept. 26, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /4 22/ 1/0 UETE [En IN V EN TOR. THEODORE J MA TE COR/N ATTORNEY June 27, 1950 T. J. MATEGORIN FLUID CONTROL DEVICE 2 t e e w ,r t v w 2 w 0 O m 0 0 P u. R 0 E w w a s w 4 O 0 0 0 w W 6 4 2 0 w Gm 583% e 2 t p e S d e l 1 F SPEED RPM.

INVENTOR. THEODOPEJMA 7560/? /N ATTORNEY Patented June 27, 1950 UNI ED STAT ES PATENT OFF I 2,512,956 V FLUID-CONTROL DEVICE- Theodore J Mategorin, Detroit; Mich.,, assignor.

to-Bendix Aviation Corporation, Detroit,. Mich., a-corperation of Delaware Application September 26, 1946; Serial No. 699E478 2 Claims. 1,

Thisinvention relates" to fluid control devices. Broadly: the invention comprehends the provision=v of. means for substantially eliminating fluid temperature as; a factor inthe determination of:pressure:in-;any viscous hydraulic circuit. More: specifically theainvention contemplates the production of: a thermally responsive device,

which, whenconnected into a viscous hydraulic circuit, will causethefluidpressure'in the circuit ..to::varyg directly: as the speed of any given pumping apparatusz- Amobjectof the invention is to provide. a control for viscousvzliquid flowwhich prevents variations inlviscosity, due, to temperature; from producing any appreciable change in the 'fluid pressure.

Another; object ofthe invention is the provisionof a; thermally. responsive controlled orifice;whicmwhemproperly calibrated and connectedin a viscous fluid-circuit, renders the fluid pressure a-.f,unetion;fthe speed of thepumpin means=above Yet another object of the invention isthe provision of a calibrated orifice ..the .cros-srsection ofwhich. is controlled by thermally. responsive means.

Still: another. object. of. the invention is to provide a convenient andfacile mea-ns of maintaining a direct relationship .betweenpump speed and,,- pressure in any viscous fluidcircuit irrespective of; the. fluid temperatures.

Acfurther. object-of. the invention,i-s-, the provision of a controlled orifice. for viscous fluid flow which constricts. or; dilates to compensate for thedecrease or, increase.of internal. friction in the. fluid.

Astilliurther object .ofsthe. invention isto provide a thermally responsive controlled orifice whlch.is reliable. accurate, andlinexpensive to produce.

Yet,-a-.-sti11 further, object. of the invention is the provisionof a thermally responsive controlled orifice. which is compact and comprised of. relatively few: component parts. c

Other objects andi'advantages of. the" invention will appear from theiollowing,descriptiontaken in connection with. the accompanyingdrawings forming .a, part. of this sp ecification, and in which:

Fig. 1 is anelevationview partially in section 01".a. structurev embodying, the invention;

Fig. .2. is.,a.,p ,lan,view offthe split bL-metallring showing. the, locating. tongue},

Fig. 3' is. an elvationview of J the. split .biemetal Fig. hisanendlview of the; split .biemetalring 2. showing; the; location-1 and: size ofx-the axial split; Fig. 5" is; across-section view: of:v the: assembly in Fig: 6- taken on:.p 1ane;5;-5:; shOW-lngjhG-lO- cation of, the annular: channel: relative to; the calibrated orifice;

Fig. 6 is avertica-l section-,view -of a1. structure embodying: a; modification of the: invention; j

Fig. 7 shows a group of I: curvesrgillustratingr the variation.- of fluid; pressure with temperature changes for given: :values; of; pumpspeedj; without the-use of:applicant swdeviceim thezhydraulic circuit;,,and;

Fig. 8 shows a group of curves illustratingi-the variationZ of: fluid pressure; with temperature changedOr: given valuesaof pump speed; with. the use-tor applicantfs :device. in itheshydraulic circuit. Referringto thedrawings; for. more; specific details: ofv the invention; I ll!- representsv a: housing having an, axial opening therethroug h' threaded 0none;end,- IE to facilitate: connection into: a hydraulic circuit, notlshown.

The: opposite; end; of; the: housing. I0 is; provided; with an internal; threaded section, v [4 .ad-

jacent to which. is, an ,annular-- undercut la. having a finished? shoulder l8. Theecentral; portion of they housing has-,a-,doub1e:-. diametral chamber including a large .bore -2 0 and a. smallen bore. 22

providing therebetween a seating-shoulder: 24 having 5 an axial slot. 26 therein..

A: contoured, orifice: 28;.- is-.provided in .the wall ofthe housing I 0. substantially. opposite the axial slot. 26. and in directcommunication. with, the larger. bore 20-.

A bi-,metal ring 30, having an, axial slit- 32 therethrough ,andalocating -tongue 34 ononeend thereof, fitted. into the larger :bore. 20;. of 1 the housing [IL-and positioned with the, axial -,slit,,32 centrally; disposed. over the. orificemh. TheJing 30 is seated on the annular shoulder! and'secured. againstany, angular. movement ,relative to the. orifice.-. 28., b the locating, ton ue 3A; in cooperation with .the. axial, slot. 2 6T;

- In practice. .it is. desirable. ,to relieve, the. sharp angularitiesr which are normally present at. the bas,e., of, the toneueBlh Thismay be done-eerillustrated in Fig, 2, .by, placing. a; small. notch 36 on. either, sideof, the tongue. 3.4,,thus enablin the ring; an. to... seat properly; on, the. annular shoulder. 24. v.

End, clearance.isyprovided; ion the; biemetal rin 3u- .to..-prevent .linear expansion, ocourringin the, ring at. high operating temperatures, from binding the e1ement,and..thus. destroying the orifice calibration.

A plug 33-11'aving, alheadJ mo wi ha 3 diametral slot 42 for the reception of a torque applying tool is threaded into the opening I4 to seal the end of the housing III. The plug 38 is turned down to seat on the annular shoulder I8 and is so adapted as to provide clearance 54 between the head 40 and the end of the housing.

This clearance 44 is necessary to insure a proper seat between theend of the plug 38 and the annular shoulder I8.

In producing the bi-metal ring 30 it is desirable that materials having large thermal coefiicients of expansion be used to provide the outer portion of the ring, whereas materials exhibiting smaller rates of expansion are required for the inner portion. Thus, when the ring 30 is subjected to changes in temperature, the outer portion will expand at a faster rate than the inner portion and consequently produce substantially circular elongation. This prevents the expansive forces, which occur in the ring 3!], at high operating temperatures, from causing it to bind on the wall of the confining section 20, and thereby impair the proper functioning of the orifice 28.

A modification of the invention is embodied in the structures shown in Figs, 5 and 6. In this embodiment,-a housing I is provided comprising two separable components I02 andIM. One por- "tion- I02 of the housing hasan axial bore 1 IIIG "therethrough threaded on one end to facilitate connection intoa hydraulic circuit, not shown,"

and the opposite end is provided with an external threaded section I I18 terminating at a" finished annular shoulder I ID.

The other component I04 of the housing I06 has an axial bore 'I I2 therein,- an orifice I I4 in' communication therewith and an'annular chan nel IIS on the inner periphery of the bore IIZ communicating at either endwith the orifice I I4.

A bi-metal ring II8 having an axial slit I20, .therethrough isfitt'edinto the largerbore H2,

'the bi-metal ring I I I8-as the annular channel I I6 enables the splitIZEI to communicate with the orifice-I'M, irrespective of its angular position relative thereto.

This completes a detailed description of the structural embodiments of this invention. However, to facilitate a more thorough comprehension of the invention reference will now bemade to the manner in which the devices perform their intended function.

In view of the fact that both embodiments operate insubstantially the same manner, the fol-. lowingdiscussion is applicable to both the preferred embodimentand the modification shown in Figs. 5 and'fi;

In use thedevice is connected into a pressurized 3 hydraulic line, not shown in which the effect on the pressures of changes in viscosity resulting from temperature variations in the hydraulic fluid is to be substantiallyeliminated. The orifice is adapted to be connected to a sump or reservoir,

notshown, so that thehydraulic fluid bypassed. v through the orificemay be returned to the working circuit bya hydraulic pump, not shown;

As the fluid is circulated through the working circuit, fiuid friction,'both internal and external,

generates aconsiderable amount of heat. This heat, which ispartially absorbedand retained by the fluid medium, causes the viscosity to decrease as the fluid temperature rises. As .a natural consequence of this decrease in internal fluid fricvice.

tion, the pressure diminishes proportionately for any given pump speed. Therefore, to avoid the necessity for increasing the pump displacement to compensate for the loss in friction head, the equivalent back pressure is created by constricting the by-pass orifice.

The amount of constriction is at all times carefully calculated to substantially balance the loss in head occasioned by'the changein viscosity. To effect this change in orifice cross-section, at a ratio commensurate with the change in fluid temperature, the split bi-metal ring, which directly determines the effective orifice size, is adapted to respond readily to all temperature variations in the circulating hydraulic medium.

Initially, when the hydraulic medium is at a relatively low temperature, the bi-metal ring is contracted and a large portion of the orifice cross- Section is exposed.

This permits a considerable volume of hydraulic fluid to by-pass through the orifice and return to the pump intake without passing through the working circuit. However, after the hydraulic fluid has been circulated for a considerable time, the temperature gradually increases and causes the bi-metal ring to expand. This expansion serves to decrease the width of the split in the bimetal ring which results in a corresponding diminution of the orifice cross-section.

The net effect is a decrease in the amount of fluid by-passed around the working circuit. With no possible means of escape for the pressurized fluid, it is retained in the working circuit and causes a back pressure adequate to compensate for the loss in friction head occasioned by the decrease in viscosity.

The converse of the above reaction naturally follows where the temperature of the hydraulic medium islowered. Dilation of the orifice,in. stead of constriction, is produced in an effort to by-pass a sufficient amount of fluid to offset the gain in friction head occasioned by the increase in viscosity. 7

Another adaptation, conceived of for the applicants invention, is its use in connection with the pressure regulated controls on a torque converter. To operate in this capacity the device is connected into a pressurized line rather than in the working circuit as previously described. However, as the pressurized control lines are supplied with hydraulic fiuid from the working circuit, the effect of viscosity change is readily apparent in the control circuits.

Therefore, the applicants device functioning as previously described, prohibits the pressure in the control system from reflecting changesin viscosity occasioned by temperature variations in the hydraulic medium.

To further appreciate the effective manner in which the applicants device operates performance curves are presented for consideration. Fig. '7 shows the variations in pressure for any given pump speed as the temperature changes. As an illustration, at 1100 R. P. M. the pressure .varies from 88 p. s. i. at F. to 35 p. s. i. at 300 F. in a typical hydraulic circuit, of the type described, without'the use of the applicants de- In markedcontrast to this performance, consider that shown by the curves in Fig. 8, which were obtained from test'runs made on the same circuit that produced the curves of Fig. 7,

except that the applicants device was installed.

A cursory examination of the curves in Fig.8 reveals that the pressure variations have been greatly reduced for given valuesof R. P. M.

Closer examinationreveals that as the temperature is increased to 250 F., the resulting pressure, for a given pump speed, is actually greater than at 70 F. for the same speed. This in effect means that the regulation may be varied over an almost infinite range to produce the results best suited for any particular adaptation. This variation may be effected by altering the contour of the orifice, changing the total thickness of the bimetal ring, varying the constituent ingredients of the bi-metal, changing the relative thickness of each material, etc. Each of the above factors, if varied, will produce a corresponding efiect on the operating characteristics of the orifice, and, as it is possible to vary these factors individually, collectively or in various combinations, the possible variations in performance are substantially 1. In a fluid control device,'a housing having an axial bore and an orifice in communication with the bore, and a bi-metal split ring secured in the bore with the free ends of the ring straddling the orifice to vary the effective cross-section thereof in response to changes in the operating temperature of the device.

2. In a fluid control device, a housing having an axial bore and an orifice in communication with the bore, a bi-metal ring in the bore having a split disposed over the orifice so as to control the effective cross-sectional area thereof in accordance with variations in operating temperatures, and means associated with the ring for retaining it in position relative to the orifice.

THEODORE J. MATEGORIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,835,790 Legrand Dec. 8, 1931 1,854,964 Tibbetts Apr. 19, 1932 1,918,959 Culp July 18, 1933 1,964,638 Kreidel June 26, 1934 

